Orofacial Crohn Disease in Children

Orofacial Crohn Disease in Children

Say Crohn disease and most people think of gastrointestinal issues, not oral problems. But orofacial Crohn disease is a specific disorder, associated with Crohn disease of the bowel, frequently found in children. It may occur simultaneously with bowel symptoms, or it may precede them, usually by a few months.

The connection between the two is unclear. Experts think the inflammation from “traditional” Crohn disease may be a possible factor. Other possible causes include immunity problems, infections and nutritional deficiencies.

Signs of orofacial Crohn disease include swollen or bleeding gums, mouth sores, lip swelling, and ulcers in the fold between the cheek and gum. Facial skin may be affected by ulcers, nodules or persistent swelling. Topical anti-inflammatory agents and an antibacterial mouth rinse can often ease the discomfort of mouth and gum soreness.

Sometimes the signs of orofacial Crohn disease are not troublesome, so children and parents may be unaware of them. However, in many cases, symptoms can cause pain when affected areas are touched, discomfort when eating spicy or acidic food, and difficulty eating, speaking or swallowing. Children may also become self-conscious if their facial appearance has been affected.

If your child exhibits any of these symptoms, schedule an appointment with KiDDS Dental for an evaluation. Ultimately, we may take a biopsy to determine whether bowel disease is present, and we may prescribe steroids for the inflammation. Fortunately, the symptoms of orofacial Crohn disease generally resolve once the bowel disease has been treated.

Always make sure your child’s diet is rich in nutrients. Crohn disease can prevent the digestive tract from absorbing enough vitamins from food to maintain nutritional balance. Dr. Jared may suggest consulting a dietician to help plan your child’s meals for maximum nutrition. Limit greasy or fried foods, and be sure your child drinks enough water to stay hydrated.

If your child complains of soreness in the mouth, bring him or her in to see us. We can discuss options to relieve your child’s symptoms and minimize flare-ups of orofacial Crohn disease.

If you have further questions regarding the affects of Crohns Disease on oral health, click here to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jared. Or give us a call at (509)-891-7070.

Oral Piercing and Your Teen’s Dental Health

Oral Piercing and Your Teen’s Dental Health

Speaking with a forked tongue was once just an expression, implying that the speaker was not truthful. Today, forked tongues—tongues surgically split in two—are a reality, just one of the numerous forms of oral “body art” currently popular among teens and young adults. Your teen may want a mouth piercing, but be aware that inserting rings and other jewelry into the tongue, lip or cheek can pose serious health risks and cause permanent dental damage.

In fact, one seven-year study reported in Pediatric Dentistry in 2012 found that 25,000 people—nearly three-quarters of them 14 to 22 years of age—visited American emergency rooms for injuries involving oral piercings. The most common complaint was infection, usually the result of touching the jewelry with unsanitary hands or contact with food and drink. In 1997 the British Dental Journal reported on a severe case of infection for which antibiotic therapy failed; the 25-year-old patient required surgery to remove the barbell-shaped jewelry and decompress the swelling in the floor of her mouth. And in 2008 a healthy 19-year-old woman who had had a recent tongue piercing contracted herpes simplex virus that progressed to hepatitis and subsequent death.

Because the location of a piercing is usually selected for its visual effect, rather than oral safety, the piercing process itself can be hazardous, posing the risk of permanent nerve damage that can affect the sense of taste or a swelling of the tongue that blocks the airway and inhibits breathing. Other complaints—particularly in the post-piercing healing period—include pain, swelling, excessive bleeding and an allergic reaction to the jewelry.

Oral piercings have been linked to gum recession, bone loss and drooling due to increased salivary flow. If jewelry becomes embedded in oral tissue, surgery may be required to 

remove it. And piercings can interfere with dental care by obscuring x-rays.

The healing period after piercing requires meticulous attention to hygiene. Your teen should floss daily and brush the teeth, tongue and jewelry after every meal, using a new, soft toothbrush stored away from other toothbrushes to prevent contamination. And your teen must learn to eat carefully in order to avoid biting down on jewelry and damaging teeth, restorations and fillings. Opening the mouth too wide can cause some piercings to catch on the teeth.

If your teen wants an oral piercing, Dr. Jared and his clinical team can provide an individualized assessment of the risks and devise a care plan to maintain oral health. Regular visits to KiDDS Dental will ensure supervision of the piercing and timely repair of any damage before it worsens. If your teen experiences an adverse reaction that does not respond to treatment, we may suggest permanent removal of the piercing and a rehabilitation plan to restore oral health.

Call us to schedule an appointment today!  509-891-7070.

Oral Clues to Eating Disorders

Oral Clues to Eating Disorders

Of the more than 10 million Americans currently affected by serious eating disorders, most are teenagers and young adult women. In addition to having a negative effect on self-image, relationships with family and friends, and performance in school or at work, eating disorders also affect a person’s oral health. In fact, oral clues—among them, thinner teeth, enlarged salivary glands and soft tissue ulcerations—are signs familiar to a dental professional of an eating problem such as bulimia or anorexia.

The nutritional deficiencies that accompany eating disorders can raise certain red flags. Two, for instance, are chronically irritated and sore corners of the mouth (angular cheilitis) and a swollen, painful tongue (glossitis).

Anorexia, bulimia and compulsive overeating are among the most serious eating disorders. A person with anorexia sees himself or herself as fat no matter how thin the body in the mirror appears. In bulimia, the patient fears becoming overweight, yet eats large amounts of food and gets rid of it immediately by vomiting or using laxatives. Compulsive overeaters “binge” on food but don’t necessarily “purge” the way bulimics do.

If you suspect your child has an eating disorder, do not ignore it. Engage in nonjudgmental discussions with your child about the behavior. Consult his or her pediatrician and, most likely, a mental health specialist.

While you seek help for the problem, we can suggest strategies to help prevent oral health complications. One of the most important is also counterintuitive. Although someone who has just vomited may want to brush his or her teeth immediately, the acid on the teeth makes them vulnerable to enamel loss. A rinse of either plain water or a solution of water and baking soda will help neutralize the harmful effects of stomach acids on the teeth. Brushing can come an hour later and should be done with a fluoride toothpaste. In fact, additional fluoride treatments, at home or in our office, may be recommended to help preserve tooth enamel.

Malnutrition from anorexia will often leave salivary glands swollen and less productive, leading to a tendency toward dry mouth, which in turn hastens tooth decay. In addition to fastidious dental hygiene, chewing sugarless gum with xylitol can help maintain oral moistness and preserve mouth health.

If you think your child might have an eating disorder, we can discuss the matter with you in more detail and refer you to other helpful community resources.

Give us a call at 509-891-7070 to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jared today!

Mouthguards: Necessary Athletic Equipment

Mouthguards: Necessary Athletic Equipment

Do your children play basketball, football, soccer or softball? Do they wrestle or box, play rugby or lacrosse, skateboard, or participate in martial arts? According to the Academy of General Dentistry, all children should wear a properly fitted mouthguard when participating in these or any other contact sport. A mouthguard will help protect their teeth and reduce the likelihood of lip, cheek, tongue and jaw injuries.

Mouthguards are flexible appliances that protect teeth from both direct and indirect trauma. Most mouthguards cover only the upper teeth. However, Dr. Jared may recommend a mouthguard for the lower teeth if your child wears braces on these teeth.

Mouthguards come in three styles and price ranges:

• Stock mouthguards are off-the-shelf devices. They are inexpensive but offer the least protection because they require the lower jaw to remain closed to keep them in place. Dental professionals consider the protection offered by stock mouthguards to be inadequate.
• “Boil and bite” mouthguards are made of a thermoplastic material that, when heated and inserted into the mouth, conforms to the shape of the teeth. They provide better protection than do stock mouthguards
• Custom-made mouthguards are the most expensive but provide the best level of protection and comfort. These are made from a mold of the teeth taken in our office.

The National Youth Sports Safety Foundation projects that more than 3 million teeth will be knocked out each year in youth sports events. Children who do not wear mouthguards are 60 times more likely to experience tooth damage. Despite this, a survey commissioned by the American Academy of Orthodontists found that 84% of children playing organized sports do not wear mouthguards.

So, buy helmets, pads and other protective equipment to keep your children safe, but also put a high-quality mouthguard on your shopping list. And if your child is using a mouthguard, bring it along to his or her next dental appointment at KiDDS Dental and let us check the fit.

If you have questions about mouthguards, click here to schedule an appointment with Dr. Jared. Or give us a call at (509)-891-7070.

One Brushstroke = Ten Years of Cavity Protection

One Brushstroke = Ten Years of Cavity Protection

The cavity-prevention method called “sealing” is a very effective and easy way for dentists and parents to help greatly reduce the chance that children will develop tooth decay.

How it works: The sealant, brushed onto the surfaces of your child’s teeth, is actually a liquid form of plastic. The back teeth—premolars and molars, with their particularly deep crevices—benefit most from sealants. Without sealants, food particles and decay-causing bacteria can remain in those tough-to-reach spaces, away from the efforts of even the most conscientious tooth-brushers.

After we apply the sealant, it hardens rapidly and becomes a colorless physical barrier―it literally “seals up” those tooth crevices so food and bacteria cannot settle there. The best strategy appears to be applying sealant to the chewing surface of each back tooth as soon as possible after the tooth emerges in your child’s mouth. We often recommend sealing primary teeth as well.

Generally long lasting, one application of sealant can last for up to a decade. During each of your child’s checkups, we’ll inspect the sealant and apply more if necessary, because on occasion the sealant may wear away earlier than expected.

If there is a downside to applying dental sealant, it’s that parents and children can be lulled into a false sense of security. While sealants do effectively deter cavities from forming in children’s nook-and-cranny-filled back teeth, they provide no guarantee that all of your child’s teeth will remain cavity-free. To best protect the smooth surfaces of all teeth, expose them to fluoride—with fluoride toothpaste, fluoridated water and, in some cases for extra protection, a fluoride rinse.

Remember that, even with sealed teeth, your child needs to follow the rules of good dental hygiene. Your child still should brush twice a day, floss once a day, and avoid sticky candy and cookies unless he or she can brush right after eating them.

More questions about sealants? Talk to Dr. Jared and his clinical team at your child’s next visit to KiDDS Dental.

Call us to schedule an appointment today!  509-891-7070.

Mother's DAY? No way!

We'll be celebrating mothers ALL WEEK on Facebook
and one lucky winner will get a Kindle Fire just for playing along.

Look for a new way to enter to win each day

May 3rd through May 9th.

Contest Rules:

By entering this promotion, participant agrees to a complete release of Facebook from any or all liability in connection with this contest. It is also acknowledgment that the contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook. No purchase is necessary to enter or win.

How to enter: Entries consist of following the directions (comment, "like," etc.) given in the official promotion posts on the KiDDS Dental Facebook page between May 3, 2020 at 9:00 AM and May 9, 2020 at 5:00 PM. One entry per promotion post per Facebook user is allowed. Multiple entries per promotion post will be disqualified.

Drawing: One random prize drawing will be held on or about May 11, 2020.  The winner will receive a Kindle Fire. This prize is valued at $59. Cash cannot be awarded in lieu of prize. Prize is not transferable. The winner is solely responsible for reporting and paying applicable state and federal taxes. If a winner is disqualified or if a prize is unclaimed, KiDDS Dental reserves the right to conduct another drawing to determine an alternate winner or to not award that winner's prize, at its sole discretion.

Odds: Actual odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries.

Eligibility: Legal residents of the United States are eligible to participate and win. Any person under the age of 18 must have a parent's or legal guardian's permission to participate and/or win.  Must be 13 years or older to enter. Employees of KiDDS Dental and their immediate families (spouse, parents, siblings, children, in-laws) are not eligible to enter. Winner must be available to pick up prize at KiDDS Dental in Liberty Lake, WA by May 21, 2020.

Decisions: By entering into the promotion, entrants and their parents or guardians (if the entrant is under the age of 18) agree to abide by and be bound by these official rules, and to accept the decision of KiDDS Dental as final.  Entrants and their parents or guardians (if entrant is under the age of 18) also agree to hold KiDDS Dental harmless from any liability arising from participation in this promotion. KiDDS Dental is not responsible for entries not received because of technical difficulties. KiDDS Dental reserves the right to disqualify any participant to a person who fails to follow these official rules or uses fraudulent means in participating. If for any reason this promotion is not able to be conducted as planned, KiDDS Dental reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend this promotion and randomly draw from the entries received up to the cancellation/suspension date.

Liability Release: By participating, each participant and winner waives any and all claims against KiDDS Dental their employees and agents for any personal loss of any kind which may occur from the participation in the promotion.

Publicity: Each winner (and such winner's parent or guardian if any winner is under the age of 18) agrees to permit KiDDS Dental to use his/her name and likeness in promotional and other KiDDS Dental materials, without additional compensation or permission, except where prohibited by law.

This promotion is void where prohibited.

By entering the contest, entrants grant KiDDS Dental license to display, distribute, reproduce contest entries. Winners must sign a media release and will be responsible for paying any taxes they may owe on a prize.

Nothing Safe About Vaping

Nothing Safe About Vaping

The popularity of e-cigarettes, or vaping, has increased dramatically in recent years. Marketed as a safer alternative to smoking, e-cigarettes offer nicotine in a liquid vapor that is inhaled like a cigarette, but without any actual tobacco. Although many people assume they are safe, there is no scientific evidence to support the safety of e-cigarettes. Nicotine, regardless of how it is delivered, can have a detrimental effect on oral health, and it is important that children and teens hear this message.

A survey conducted from 2011 to 2012 found that e-cigarette use among middle and high school students had doubled—from 3.3% to 6.8%. This trend is disturbing, especially at a time when we have not yet fully studied the effects of e-cigarettes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration spoke about this in 2014 saying, “E-cigarettes have not been fully studied, so consumers currently don’t know the potential risks of e-cigarettes when used as intended, how much nicotine or other potentially harmful chemicals are being inhaled during use, or whether there are any benefits associated with using these products.”

However, we do know the following with some certainty:

• E-cigarette use causes gum recession. Because nicotine reduces the amount of blood that can flow through your veins, gums may not receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to stay healthy. Also, the use of nicotine can mask the signs of gum disease, making it more difficult for us to diagnose.
• E-cigarettes cause bad breath. The use of nicotine in any form can reduce your body’s ability to produce saliva, which, in turn, can lead to more bacteria in your mouth and, eventually, tooth decay and bad breath.
• E-cigarettes can increase tooth grinding. Because nicotine is a stimulant, it can intensify tooth-grinding among adults and adolescents.
• Nicotine use during adolescence can negatively impact the developing brain. And because nicotine is a known potentially lethal toxin, ingestion, inhalation or absorption through the skin or eyes can lead to poisoning, which can be fatal.

It is important that adolescents as well as adults understand these risks. If you want us to talk to your teen about the dangers of e-cigarettes, ask Dr. Jared at your child’s next appointment, and he will be happy to discuss this in more detail. We want your child to have a sparkling white smile, along with oral health that will last a lifetime.

Give us a call at 509-891-7070 to schedule today!